Knives and Spinny Things
by Solitae
Summary: A oneshot look at Sigrun's childhood in Dust Town and the trouble she manages to get into. Full of hunger, knives, humor and spinny things. Response to a comm prompt.


_I wrote this as a response to the Stages of Life prompt for the People of Thedas community on Dreamwidth. I chose "child" as the stage to write about, and for some reason, this piece ended up being difficult. Still, I'm happy with the results and hope you enjoy this peek at eight-year-old Sigrun. Sigrun needs more love!_

_Thanks as always to Drakontion for her beta work. I owe her for urging me to write the final section!_

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><p><strong>Knives and Spinny Things<strong>

Sigrun was bored, and hungry. Mostly hungry, but being bored made it really hard to ignore the howling of her empty tummy. The rock she was kicking wasn't doing anything interesting, just rolling down the street...like a rock. Stupid rock.

Sighing, she screwed up her face and looked around for something interesting. Not that Dust Town really had much interesting happening. Some old beggar tucked in a corner whining thinly about needing food or coin or a good kick in the face. Who didn't need something here? _She_ needed food!

A knot of taller dwarves with brands nearly covering their faces clustered near Rica's door, and Sigrun crouched in a corner, watching. They had obviously eaten more recently than last week. Maybe if she just crept up close enough... She chewed her lip thoughtfully. Surely one of them had something she could sell or even _eat_. They looked mean though, with thick arms and knives. The one closest to her lounged against a broken wall, his dagger flashing between his hands to keep them busy.

Her blue eyes hungrily drank in the sight of the blade. If _she_ had a knife, Sigrun wouldn't be this hungry right now. Those stupid boys that had stolen her nug and left her with two black eyes and bruises all over wouldn't have had a chance. She had fought, of course, and they hadn't gotten away before she managed a few kicks to their bits and nearly ripped off one of their ears, but she wasn't strong enough to beat four of them at once. They'd pummeled her good. _And_ her stomach was still empty.

She gnawed on her lip more. Those big blades on their backs would be too much for her, and too obvious. Someone would just steal it from her after she'd taken it fair and square! Three of the dwarves had small belt knives though. Just the right size for an eight year old dwarf, like her. One of those would be perfect. Of course, none of those nug pellets would just give her a knife, and she couldn't run into the middle of them.

Just when she had nearly decided to look for an easier mark, one of the belt knives wandered off around a ruined wall to take a piss. Sigrun grinned to herself. _Praise the Ancestors! _She waited until he was flopping out of his trousers before she suddenly gave her rock a mighty kick.

It skittered and hopped over the dirt, and she chased after it with a yell. Stupid kid games, or so she hoped they thought. Her very helpful rock flew past her mark, and she charged toward him. She was just chasing her rock, right? _Right?_

She collided hard with his hip. _Oof! _And he stumbled, manhood flailing in his hands. Piss splattered on the walls as he yelped in surprise. _Gross._

"Watch it, you sodding brat!" Her nimble fingers darted swiftly to find her prize. They wrapped around the rough stone handle, and she yanked it free as she ducked out of the way of his fist. Almost. It smacked the top of her head hard, and her vision wavered. _Ow._

No time for that! "Sorry!" she squeaked. And then she ran, fast, abandoning her stupid rock to its fate. They didn't bother chasing some duster brat, and she could hear them grumbling in annoyance as she tore away from them toward a warren of crumbling walls.

"Bitch stole my knife!" She finally heard. Sigrun grinned. She was nearly there, and they'd just begun running. Without a hitch, she ducked through the tilted wall and crawled beneath fallen pillars and around jagged rocks to her hidey hole.

Still breathing hard, she crouched in the dark with her shoulders pressed against the stone. They weren't far behind, but they would have to break through the walls to get to her. Big ugly dwarves. Outside, she heard them talking, and she clutched the blade to her chest in the darkness, the metal cold through her ragged tunic.

Apparently it was too much trouble to go digging through Dust Town rubble for one little belt knife, and she sagged with relief when they left.

_My knife, and I'll stab any blighter that tries to take it._ The shaped stone felt strange in her hand as she experimentally stabbed the air with it, but she shifted her grip..and suddenly it seemed to belong.

She shivered, nerves still ragged with excitement, as she stroked a finger lovingly down the metal. It was scarred and pitted, an old thing, but it was sharp enough and _hers_.

-oOo-

"Whatcha got there, Sigrun?" Stupid nug pellets, always trying to steal what she had. The boys a year or two older than her were the worst, targeting her both because she was small for her age and because _she_ always found the best stuff.

She scowled as she looked at Derken, who was alone this time. "Nothing," she snapped sullenly and kept walking. _Act just like you do normally, Sigrun. Make him think you don't want another beating_. Her grip on the stone handle changed slightly. Just how was she supposed to hold the blasted thing for a fight?

"Let me see it!" That bronto's arse demanded with his most intimidating glare.

Sigrun bared her teeth. Her sodding hand was sweating, but she held on tight. She just had to hit him with the sharp end, right?

"No."

Predictably, the stupid boy tried to grab her arm; she drew her hand back and brought it down as hard as she could. His shriek filled her ears before she could even see what the knife had done, and she grinned.

Screamy stumbled back from her, staring at his hand like the idiot he was. He was still blubbering, and she thought he might have pissed himself. He stank bad enough.

"That's blood," Sigrun told him haughtily. "And if you touch me again, I'll make you bleed from your _eyes!_" After a second, it occurred to her to show him the knife again. His blood still stained the blade, and she made stabbing motions toward his head.

His dumb eyes widened, and he made a weird sound. Was that a whimper?

She giggled at Screamy as she wiped the blood on her shirt. Her hands shook, but she felt _great!_ Especially since he was staring at her with fear in his eyes. _He_ was afraid of _her!_

The idiot spun and ran like a deepstalker was on his arse, and Sigrun laughed, clutching her knife close.

At least she wasn't bored any more, but she _was_ still hungry.

-oOo-

"Ain't that the bitch that took your knife, Voske?"

_Nug pellets!_ Sigrun had done her best to avoid the bruisers for the last couple days, but she'd turned a corner and there they were, staring at her.

Gingerly, she tried to step back out of their sight, only to have a hand like a golem's grip her arm roughly.

"That's the one."

Her hand shot toward her knife, and another big hand hand closed over it too. Abruptly, the floor fell away. Squirming and spitting, she was lifted to eye-level with a dwarf who had one of the ugliest tattoos she'd ever seen. It covered his whole face and made his heavy brow look like it was going to fall into his eyes.

He scowled at her, and she gave him her best innocent smile, blue eyes wide.

"You owe me for that knife, brat."

"I...uh..." Right, she could just give him a fistful of coppers for it. If she had them. Which she didn't.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at her, trying to scare her, but she just stared back, jaw set. Suddenly, he laughed and set her back on the ground with a pat to her head. _What the...?_

"You do some jobs for me, kid, and we'll call it even."

"Sure." If she got to keep her knife and he wasn't going to turn her into tiny pieces of ground up dwarf, she didn't care. She'd do whatever he wanted.

"She stole from you, and you're going to give her a job?" The stupid one who had pointed her out before spoke up again. _Shut up!_

"She managed to steal my knife and tear up Derken's hand," Ugly laughed again and eyed her like she was a hammer. "Damn right, I am. Those uppity bastards in the Commons won't know what hit them."

He winked at her and jerked his head. "Bet you're hungry. C'mon. The woman probably has some stew on the fire."

Wait, Ugly was going to feed her _and_ let her keep the knife? She stared at him warily, her hand lingering over her hilt, and he arched an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to follow. Finally, she relented. Food, a knife, a job.

-oOo-

Sigrun was learning lots of things.

First: Ugly was a bastard. That stew he gave her? The nug humper had made her do jobs to repay him for that _and_ the knife, but he also taught her how to hold the knife and, more importantly, how to hide it. She supposed that made them even.

Second: The dwarves in the Commons were as stupid as the ones in Dust Town. No one paid attention to a kid, especially one as small as her, and no one noticed her brand if she kept her head tilted to make her shaggy hair fall over it. It was so easy just to bump up against one of those eyeless wonders and walk away with a little something for her trouble. She'd been scared at first, but Ugly made her practice in Dust Town before he let her loose in the Commons. Not that anyone in Dust Town had anything worth stealing.

Third: Never look at the guards in the Commons. Those bronto's arses always thought it meant she was up to something, and her first day in the Commons had ended with them tossing her down the stairs to Dust Town. Stairs _hurt, _but at least they hadn't found her knife or the few coins she'd filched that day.

Fourth: Stealing was_ fun. _In Dust Town, she had rarely grabbed anything really worthwhile, but in the Commons, there were coins, gems, and all sorts of shiny wonderful things! True, Ugly took most of it, but she got enough to keep. She even had a little metal thing that balanced perfectly when she spun it. Ugly said it was worthless, but she loved her spinny thing.

Fifth: Having enough food made Mama happy. Well, it made her happier, and they still didn't exactly have full tummies, but Sigrun had been able to make it better. Mama didn't yell quite as much or look so sad, and the first time Sigrun had come home with a small handful of coins, Mama had smiled bigger than she'd ever seen before. Then, Mama had hugged her, tight enough to hurt. Sigrun had to make sure Mama and her baby brother had enough to eat, no matter how many times she got thrown down the stairs.

-oOo-

The spinny thing still delighted Sigrun, her eyes wide as she watched it whirl across the stones out on the roof of Vigil's Keep. It was impossible not to smile as it spun wildly, and she giggled to herself, aware that Lord Broody was watching her with his arms crossed over his chest, that perpetual frown on his lips.

"What is so fascinating about a top?" he grumbled, but she could see his eyes following it too.

"A what?" It began to slow, tilting drunkenly from side to side until it crashed to a stop like Oghren on a bad day, or really any day. "You mean the spinny thing?"

"Yes," his grey eyes pinned on her face. "It's called a 'top'. It's a child's toy."

Sigrun just smirked at his serious expression. "I like 'spinny thing' better. 'Top' sounds boring, like _you_."

Defiantly, she spun it hard again, and it shot off out of control to her right. Laughter burst from her, and she crawled after it, plopping down on her stomach with her hand cradling her chin so she could watch the spinny thing do its spin again.

Nate was shaking his head when she glanced up at him again, and she rolled her eyes. "Come here and sit down."

"Why?"

"Because you're looming. And grumping. It really takes away from my personal time with my spinny thing, you know."

He arched a brow at her doubtfully, but she just grinned and patted the warm stones next to her. "I promise, I won't even tell if you crack a smile," Sigrun teased, unable to help laughing when Lord Broody's predictable sigh spilled from him.

When the spinny thing Oghrened again, she plucked it up and pushed it into the big human hand next to her.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" he muttered, and Sigrun rolled her eyes.

"Spin it, obviously."

Nate sighed irritably and tried to hand the spinny thing back to her, but she shook her head. "Do it. Just...try to enjoy it. I know it goes against this whole woe thing you have going on."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope! I'm persistent as well as perky!" She flashed him her best grin, and she thought he might do his grumpy little stalk away again. Instead, he gave her a strange look and took the piece of metal between his fingers.

With a rather delicate touch, he spun it. The spinny thing whirled in a tight circle in front of them both, and for a moment, Sigrun simply watched its mesmerising motion. Lord Broody didn't even sigh or comment this time, and she noticed when she glanced at him that his intense eyes were following the spinny thing closely. Something that might have been an almost-smile tugged at the corners of his lips reluctantly.

Sigrun grinned to herself. She might have died and been reborn into this world without a ceiling, but there were certainly worse fates. She wasn't hungry or bored here; she had her knives; and now she had a spinny thing again. And maybe a few real friends.


End file.
